Jan. 23, 2014
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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel / MONICA A. KING, AFP/Getty Images

by Tom Vanden Brook, USATODAY

by Tom Vanden Brook, USATODAY

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a review of the nation's nuclear arsenal Thursday after a cheating scandal and allegations of drug abuse among Air Force missile personnel.

Hagel wants a plan in 60 days to determine the reason for problems in the Air Force, actions to deal with them and accountability for those responsible, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, Hagel's spokesman.

Hagel is confident the safety of the nation's nuclear missiles and bombs has not been compromised, Kirby said. There have been no accidents or breaches of security associated with the scandals, he said.

Of the 499 airmen responsible for the nuclear missile arsenal who have been retested on their duties, 22 failed and 18 have yet to be evaluated, Kirby said.

Hagel has also called for an independent review of nuclear weapons personnel in all the services. Doing so, Kirby said, is a matter of "prudence."

An in-depth review of morale and discipline problems in the nuclear forces is necessary, said Sen. Mark Udall, who chairs a panel on strategic weapons for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I remain concerned by the lapses in judgment and discipline displayed by some nuclear missile launch officers in recent months, and I applaud Defense Secretary Hagel's swift and appropriate actions to identify the root causes of those issues," Udall, a Democrat from Colorado.

Last week, top Air Force officials announced that a test-cheating ring had been uncovered at a nuclear missile base in Montana involving 34 launch officers. The investigation determined that some officers were electronically sharing answers on a monthly proficiency test, the Air Force said. The airmen either cheated on the test or knew about it and did nothing to stop or report it.

The test cheaters were uncovered during a separate drug-use investigation that has implicated 11 officers at six bases.

Earlier this month, Hagel visited F.E. Warren Air Force Base, home to the command for intercontinental ballistic missiles. The missile launch sites are scattered across three states. The work of missile-launch officers there can be "lonely" and "unheralded," Kirby said.

The Air Force's nuclear mission has been beset by embarrassing incidents in recent years. In 2008, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, the chief of staff, after a report found "an erosion of nuclear standards" and poor oversight. The report was commissioned after six nuclear missiles were accidentally transferred cross country, and nuclear warhead fuses were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan.

In October, the Air Force fired the commander of the U.S. land-based nuclear missile force after he engaged in "inappropriate behavior" while leading a U.S. delegation to Russia. Maj. Gen. Michael Carey's behavior was "conduct unbecoming an officer" after his alcohol-fueled binge on a two-day visit to Moscow in July that included a late-night meeting with local women and offensive behavior to his Russian hosts, according to an inspector general's investigation.